Very nice, very nice – but why $131,520? The first few days were spent scratching the head over this. Majestic? Sure. Fast? Unquestionably. But 131,520 semolians? How come?

By the test’s end, I knew why. Beyond the Range Rover’s tank-like flavor and awesome power, there are other impressive aspects you can’t see by the naked, uninformed eye.

2019 Land Rover Range Rover SVT

Josh Max

There’s a Wade Sensing system, which uses sensors in the mirror housings to determine the depth of water. Coupled to both an interior display screen and audible warnings, it limits the risk of damage that happens when exceeding a vehicle's maximum wading depth. For 2019, it’s updated and improved.

2019 Land Rover Range Rover SVT

Josh Max

So not only can your ride take the water or the mud or the rocks, it can help you avoid getting in over your head, literally and figuratively, which may alone be worth the price of admission. All Range Rovers come standard with wood-veneer trim, leather seats and a heated leather steering wheel, too. It's 5-star, this ride, end of story - albeit a 5-star ride that gets between 15 and 20 miles per city/highway gallon, part of the price of admission.

2019 2019 Range Rover

Land Rover

On the more pricey trim, your leather gets extended to the headliner and you’re also offered a massage mechanism which I have never really cared about in any ride. Your cargo compartment carpet can be swapped out for upscale, polished wood. Everywhere you look and touch on the tricked-out trims, you’ll find something to please the finer tastes, from satin-brushed metal cupholders, a bottle cooler, metal armrest adjustment knobs and so on.

For 2019, you get a panoramic sunroof whose operation, soundwise, isn’t far from “Get Smart’s” cone of silence. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto capability, finally, are on the menu, part of the (free!) Smartphone Pack on every 2019 Range Rover.

2019 Land Rover Range Rover SVT

Josh Max

But the best case for the price is that Land Rover, unlike some other iconic automakers, doesn’t deal in low end. Their fleet remains eternally connected to their heritage of off-road, can-and-will-do machines worth your time and the money, if you’ve earmarked that sort of coin for your next ride.

2019 Land Rover Range Rover SVT

Josh Max

That they’ve taken a rough-and-tough brand and built into a world-recognized luxury powerhouse is a feat and the price is part of the perception of that exclusivity. The average Joe and Josephine may not understand a thing about the way a vehicle works or why it’s worthy, but everyone understands a price tag.

2019 Land Rover Range Rover SVT

Josh Max

Anything I didn’t like? Yes. It’s more boatish than other similar vehicles, and one also must be careful with the right foot as your blast-off is consistently jackrabbit-like until you get the hang of doing a little tip-tip so you don’t go from zero to 60 in your driveway.

If you’re eyeballing the Cullinan or Bentayga, kick the tires of the 2019 Land Rover Range Rover. For the guilty among us, there’s also a plug-in hybrid P400e model coming up in 2020.